Venus May Have Had Earth-Like Plate Tectonics That Support Life Long Time Ago [Study]

Venus is often called Earth's twin, but it has been dubbed the "evil twin" because it's too hot for liquid to exist and support life. However, a new study suggests that the second planet from the Sun is probably just like ours and may have had the capacity to harbor life too in the past.

Venus Had Earth-Like Plate Tectonic

According to a recent study, Venus may have formerly possessed plate tectonics similar to Earth's. The discovery raises the potential that life ever existed on the second planet from the Sun, also known as a scorching world.

Lead author and scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston Matt Weller said there were probably two planets operating in a plate tectonic regime simultaneously, with the same tectonic our planet has today that supports life.

This tectonic process has accelerated the construction of numerous Earth's geological features over the span of billions of years, including things like continents and mountains. Significantly, Earth's plate tectonics also produced the chemistry necessary to maintain the planet's surface temperature, which allowed life to evolve.

Despite being referred to as "Earth's twin" and being the planet closest to Earth, Venus formed differently from Earth, with surface temperatures reaching as high as 867 degrees Fahrenheit (464 degrees Celsius).

It has been suggested that Venus's surface consisted of only one plate, a "stagnant lid" with limited give, as the cause of its distinct evolution. It's possible that this solid plate prevented internal movement and gas leaks from entering Venus' atmosphere.

However, lead author and scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston Matt Weller and associates believe that this was not always the case and that between 3.5 and 4.5 billion years ago, the planet-which is similar to Earth in terms of size, mass, volume, and density-may have experienced shifting plate tectonics. If accurate, that would also explain the high levels of nitrogen and carbon dioxide in its atmosphere at present.

The scientists discovered that when they modeled Venus using the stagnant lid hypothesis, they could not obtain the correct elemental composition present in the planet's atmosphere today. To arrive at the correct conclusion, they had to consider early Venusian plate tectonics, while they were aware that their number and range of motion would have been constrained. However, the fact that those plates exist raises the possibility that microbial life could have existed on an ancient Venus before the planet drastically diverged from its likeness to Earth.

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What Does Venus' Evolution Mean?

The recent discovery suggests that the search for life outside Earth isn't as simple and experts may have to consider the nuance of geology in the past for it. The results of the study may affect other bodies in the solar system, including the ocean moons of Jupiter and Saturn, especially Europa, which also seems to have plate tectonics similar to Earth.

According to Alexander Evans, the co-author of the paper and assistant professor of Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences at Brown University, they have traditionally conceived of tectonic states as being either true or false, and they remain that way for the entire world. The study suggests that planets may change tectonic states on a regular basis and that such transitions may occur. Earth might be the exception. This also suggests that rather than having livable planets all the time, we may have planets that alternate between being habitable and not.

The team wants to explore what triggered the changes in plate tectonics on Venus and why it diverged from the Earth. They also want to understand its evolution and how it might affect the Earth's future. The experts want to know if we are heading on the same trajectory as Venus, which is no longer habitable.